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MacClare family
The MacClares are a British noble family who formerly resided at Duneagle Castle in Scotland until it they had to give it up due to a loss of money. Background and History The family's title, Marquess of Flintshire, is Welsh. However, their courtesy title, Earl of Newtonmore, is Scottish, having been gained by the grandmother of Hugh MacClare (the present Marquess), who was Countess of Newtonmore in her own right being the "chiefly heiress of that strand of the MacClares and they took her name". The family took it's name from her''Downton Abbey: Season 3 Scripts: Page 479 and 480:'' Julian Fellowes notes: That the Countess of Newtonmore was 'chiefly heiress' was a phrase I rather liked, which I got from our historical advisor, Alastair Bruce. Peerages that may pass through women are much more common in Scotland than in England. Scottish titles created before the Act of Union can be inherited by women in default of a male heir, which for me is an argument for extending the custom to England. As for the title itself, Newtonmore was one of the towns I knew well when I was making ''Monarch Of The Glen. It is a lovely part of Inverness-shire and it was a privilege to be working there.''. The MacClares are related to the Crawley family through Susan, whose aunt is Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham. They are also connected to the Aldridge family through Rose's marriage to Atticus Aldridge. Present Family Hugh is the head of the family, and worked at the Foreign Office. He was unhappily married to Susan MacClare, first cousin to Robert Crawley, the present Earl of Grantham. Their union was not a love match, but one of duty. The couple divorced in 1924. Hugh has two elder sisters, Lady Agatha, who is alive and came to Duneagle in 1920 to look after her niece, and Lady Louisa, whose whereabouts and status are unknown; when they were children, they played a nursery game where they were sea creatures in which Louisa was a lobster, Agatha a shark, and Hugh a shrimp. Hugh henceforth went by the nickname Shrimpie. Hugh and Susan have three children: James - the present Earl of Newtonmore who does not live at Duneagle - Annabelle - who is married - and the youngest, Rose - who resided at Downton Abbey with Robert and his family from September 1921 to 1924. Hugh and Susan moved to India while he was been posted there, then settled in London after their time abroad ended and their divorce could be finalized. Susan, furious with her cousin and his family taking Shrimpie in, wrote to her eldest daughter, Annabelle, over it. Rose later married Atticus Aldridge in 1924, despite Susan's attempts to sabotage the wedding. They move to New York in 1925, and have a daughter named Victoria Rachel Cora. Family Tree *Note: This family tree works on the assumption that Roberta is Violet's sister, Susan's aunt and married to Mr Gordon (making her the "aunt who married a Gordon in 1860" mentioned by Edith). Please note that this information can change at any time. Countess of Grantham]](b.1842) 6th Earl of Grantham Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey: The Unofficial Guide to Seasons One and Two: BookCaps Study Guide (d.1890s) Marquess of Flintshire Marchioness of Flintshire Earl of Newtonmore (b.approx 1900) (b.approx 1901) (b.1902) (b.1925) References Category:Families